Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has announced a sizeable war chest supporting Hulton Park’s bid to host the Ryder Cup.
The Mayor has set aside a £70 million package with a focus on the infrastructure around a new golf course in Bolton which would host the 2035 edition.
“We’re deadly serious about it. We believe we can land [the Ryder Cup] and now it’s a case of putting in a firm bid next month and hopefully a decision soon,” Burnham said.
Burnham reported ‘promising conversations’ with organisers, and the announcement came as part of a series of projects aiming to boost the economy of the Greater Manchester area.
England hasn’t hosted the Ryder Cup since 2002, when Europe beat America at the Belfry. The funding might be there as per Burnham’s declaration, but these things often come down to the willingness of government support. You can read about that here.
This move would also have the support of European Ryder Cup star Tommy Fleetwood, who says it would be ‘incredible’ to bring the event to the north west.
As for 2031, the Ryder Cup is going back to Spain.
The matches between Europe and the USA will be held at Camiral in Costa Brava near Barcelona, 34 years after the event went to Valderrama.
Reports had strongly linked Camiral with staging the event – what used to be called PGA Catalunya.
The Hulton Park project had given up hope of hosting the Ryder Cup in 2031 with new attention on 2035, while the team at Luton Hoo in the south had hoped it could be their turn in five years.
